Affordable housing is one of the hottest topics in the real estate market these days. It all started with Mayor de Blasio’s plan to preserve or build 200,000 affordable units over the next ten years, which has resulted in a slew of new lotteries for below-market rate apartments, putting his goal ahead of schedule. And let’s not forget the expiration of the controversial 421-a tax abatement, which provides incentives to developers when they reserve at least 20 percent of a building’s units for low- and moderate-income tenants. But despite the buzz-worthy roll affordable housing has been on, many are still left wondering what exactly it is.

Is there a difference between affordable housing and low-income housing?

Yes, there’s a difference between affordable housing and NYCHA housing. The latter operates public housing projects that are reserved for low-income persons (you can see the specific eligibility requirements here). NYCHA developments are built with federal, state, or city funds and are exempt from certain local laws. The national Section 8 program, which allows tenants to put 30 percent of their income toward rent in privately-owned buildings with the federal program subsidizing the difference, also falls under NYCHA. It can also be administered by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) or New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).

Tanya Towers, a popular Mitchell Llama building located in the East Village

Just as NYCHA is its own city agency, so is Housing Preservation & Development , which oversees dozens of affordable housing programs in the city, including “various new construction and preservation development programs, tax incentive programs, senior and supportive housing, tax-exempt bond deals jointly financed with the New York City Housing Development Corporation, and resiliency initiatives, among others,” according to the agency. For apartment seekers, HPD-financed housing is funneled through two lottery systems–Mitchell-Lama Housing and NYC Housing Connect.

The Mitchell-Lama Housing program was created in 1955 to provide affordable rental and cooperative housing to moderate- and middle-income families. These buildings are privately owned but are under a statute with New York state to keep prices affordable. The rents are determined by HPD based on a given housing company’s budgetary needs. Owners receive tax abatements and low-interest mortgages.

When the program was first formed, the developments could not buy out or leave for 20 years. Now, if a given building was built before 1974, it will likely then become rent stabilized, but if it was built after that year, the building may go market rate (between 1990 and 2005, 22,688 units, the equivalent to 34 percent, of Mitchell-Lama housing was lost).

For the cooperative buildings, residents own their units under “limited equity,” which inhibits the profit they can earn from selling their home. To opt out of the program after a restriction period, three separate affirmative votes by the shareholders required, two of which require a 2/3 vote in favor of opting out. According to HPD, many rental and co-ops “have agreed to remain in the program for up to an additional 35 years in return for government subsidized loans to pay for rehabilitation of the aging building systems.”

The second affordable housing program goes through an online portal called NYC Housing Connect (more on that to come) and includes newer units that were constructed as part of market-rate developments through either the 80/20 tax exemption or inclusionary zoning. Simply put, the 80/20 program (this is what we’re talking about with the poor doors), provides tax-exempt financing to rental developers who reserve at least 20 percent of units for affordable housing. You can find out all the specifics here. Inclusionary zoning “promotes economic integration in areas of the City undergoing substantial new residential development by offering an optional floor area bonus in exchange for the creation or preservation of affordable housing, on-site or off-site,” according to the Department of City Planning.

Do I qualify and how do I apply for an apartment?

There’s no one formula to find out if you qualify for affordable housing. Mitchell-Lama has its own “eligibility requirements related to income limits, family size, and apartment size. In addition, each development sets its own restrictions and limitations,” according to HPD, while new developments vary building by building based on the neighborhood’s Area Median Income (AMI), an annual calculation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) based on the federal New York metropolitan statistical area.

The current breakdown for Mitchell-Lama housing is as follows:

There are then two PDF documents that list the current Mitchell-Lama buildings with open wait lists and short wait lists that operate on a lottery system. Preference is given to veterans. The lists note whether the building is rental or cooperative and federally subsidized or not. It also shows what type of units are available–studios and one- to four-bedrooms. Interestingly, to request an application, prospective residents must mail a paper application to the given address. Currently, there are 56 buildings across the five boroughs with open wait lists and eight with “short” wait lists of three, six, or 12 months. By comparison, people who apply to a general open wait list may not hear back for four years.

A portion of the Housing List available after one creates a NYC Housing Connect account

For non-Mitchell-Lama affordable housing, HPD has a centralized portal called NYC Housing Connect, which allows users to create a profile, search housing lotteries that are currently accepting applications, and, in some cases, apply to buildings right online (others may require a paper application request). According to the portal, “After the deadline, applications are selected for review through a lottery process. If your application is selected and you appear to qualify, you will be invited to attend an interview to continue the process of determining your eligibility. Interviews are usually scheduled from 2 to 10 months after the application deadline. You will be asked to bring documents that verify your household size, identity of members of your household, and your household income.”

Above are two examples of the pages for specific buildings through NYC Housing Connect. As you can see, the income requirements are slightly different. As we previously reported, “The Housing Finance Agency’s (HFA) qualification for obtaining affordable housing is based on household income falling between a particular development’s upper and lower limits; household members meeting guidelines, a history of good credit—and obviously, no legal, criminal or housing issues.” Another important fact to note: “a lot of affordable rent seekers think they’ll end up in the less desirable units—when in truth, affordable housing units are required to be evenly distributed throughout the entire building.”

As of August 2015, for every affordable apartment offered through the housing lotteries since 2013, there were 696 applicants, leaving you with a 0.14 percent chance of being selected. But as of last May, those odds worsened to 1,000 to 1. As 6sqft reported, “So far this year 2.54 million applicants have applied via the city’s Housing Connect website for 2,628 affordable apartments.”

Another factor is that since AMI is calculated based on the entire NYC region, it doesn’t always accurately fit with a neighborhood’s demographics. For example, last year’s AMI for a family of four in NYC came out to $86,300. But as of 2013, Brooklyn’s median income was only $46,085.

Before you lose hope, though, you may fall into a preference category. As mentioned, veterans go to the top of the list for Mitchell-Lama housing. And most newly constructed buildings reserve 50 percent of units for applicants within their community district.

Can I stay in my apartment forever?

We already touched on this regarding the 20-year Mitchell-Lama contracts, but what about within those two decades? HPD says, “A surcharge will be added to your monthly rent/carrying charge if your adjusted household income from the prior calendar year exceeds the maximum income limit. Every year Mitchell-Lama tenants are required to complete an income affidavit. This form allows your housing company to calculate your adjusted household income and the amount of a surcharge you may have to pay.” The Metropolitan Council on Urban Housing notes that for new affordable housing construction, “Once a household rents an apartment, the income eligibility requirements are no longer the basis of the rent (even though the households are required to rectify their incomes each year.) Rents do not go up or down in proportion to the tenant’s income (as with public housing or Section 8); instead, the units are typically subject to rent-stabilization, and the rent increases follow the same guidelines as other rent-stabilized apartments.”

I applied almost five years ago to several Mitchell-Llama properties, and my husband is a veteran, and I’m just getting calls now. But unfortunately, now we longer qualify.

judifrancis

Indeed – for how long will these so called affordable units be affordable? And, what is the mechanism to make sure these apts will be affordable forever? If we are to leave it to REBNY to oversee this, or individual developers, then this is a chimera. It will be what we all suspect: A political sound bite for a politician who sees himself in the White House in a few short years. LOL.

Doc Johnston

I wish I had known about this program when I first moved to NY and spent years struggling to make rent. The city needs to better promote programs like these. You don’t really begin to understand the system and what’s available until you’re years in and have gone down 1,000 different paths to finally get to what’s just a relatively comfortable position.

Carmela Hilton

My husband is a veteran and we have not been put on any priory list. That’s balonga. I’ve been applying for over a year and because we o recently live in Colorado we are on the end of the stick which is discrimination. They said veterans will get first prioty, it doesn’t matter if we live in Antarctica. He has a permanent lung disease from exposure to polyurethane paint and we have to relocate to low altitude so he can breathe. I was born and raised in New York City and Long Island.

jimpeeved

What happens if you are elderly and disabled and live in an 80/20 affordable housing unit when the set 20-year lease expires and the 421-a tax-benefit lapses? Do this mean you suddenly become homeless if you can’t afford to pay market rent for the same apartment? The laws need to be changed.

BOBBI

I’m curious to know if anyone ever replied back to you. I’m doing my own research on this subject now since I’m in a situation where this would also effect me.

1bestdog

Normandie Court residents are having their rents raised to market as we speak.

Then you get approved for the second one and it is better for you because it is closer to work and family; overall a better fit. Can you choose to break the first lease and move into the 2nd one?

Picuco09

I’d like to know this as well!

Gloria Green

That’s my question as well as I’ve submitted several applications.

Das Hh

Fishy. Didn’t think so at first, but I began applying through snail mail.. or tried to. I’ve only received two applications to fill out. One I sent out, the other was never even sealed by the office people it seems. I received it wide open. The rest of the applications I asked for are not here and the deadlines are going to pass. Seems this is how they are getting who they want in also. If they mail it to you two days before, of course your application will be late. Have people gotten in? I’m sure. But corruption is everywhere.

Tree

The mayor needs to revise this. There are too many rules to get in and too many unanswered questions i.e. pending, tenant selection in progress????? Then you have a short window to respond or you miss the interview. Suppose someone is homeless, how do they get a chance when these lotteries require everything short of a DNA sample to get in. They want perfect tenants in an imperfect world, and a lot of this stuff seems unconstitutional. Why are applicants being asked to show copies of leases of people who they are temporarily living with? This system has become ridiculous. There was an article that said that most of these units are being rented to young professionals. Who is monitoring the selection process? Are people of color, the elderly or the disabled being chosen for all neighborhoods or are they being moved further out? Here’s a solution – Just build more buildings so that people can have a cleaner and more affordable place to live. Put the slum landlords out of business, clean up the ghettoes that the racists created, lower these massive rents, and give the working class citizens a chance to live a decent life for themselves and their families. We were on our way until “greed” took over and laws were passed to price people out of neighborhoods they were living in for years. Add landlords who harrassed people until they left so that they could raise their rent plus a slow court system and here we are. I wish that phony leaders would find another job. This is what the people in New York should be marching for, but people always think things are other people’s problems until one day they wake up and it ends up in their backyard.

1bestdog

“Another important fact to note: “a lot of affordable rent seekers think they’ll end up in the less desirable units—when in truth, affordable housing units are required to be evenly distributed throughout the entire building.”” I live in one. The subsidized units are not as nice nr are they maintained. And we are all getting our rent raised to market as we near the end of the deal.